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Oakland, CA AK Press is pleased to announce the worldwide release of “My First Time A Collection of First Punk Show Stories” edited by Chris Duncan. The book will hit shelves mid to late summer.

“Youthful idealism is beautiful. No matter how silly or misguided they may end up being, the urgency and power that a group of humans with the same beliefs and ideas can harness, is intoxicating and infectious. I think that’s what does it; that’s what makes people invest their lives and take ownership of a scene, sub-culture or identity, even though they mature and inevitably change. It’s about the ability to participate and build, rather than just plainly observe and accept, without question; it’s about being in a place so intimate that just showing up makes you an integral part of the whole: knowing that without you it couldn’t be the same, knowing you are connected. This book captures the very beginning of that process.” from the Introduction

Who doesn’t love to reminisce about a more innocent time, about an event so awe-inspiring its memory only grows stronger with age?

The punk movement has permanently altered youth culture. Today’s art, politics, and aesthetics wouldn’t be the same without the hundreds of thousands of young people who have embraced punk over the last 30-odd years.

What does each of these recruits have in common? They all remember their first time. Hear what it’s like straight from the fans, bands, and fanatics.

Whether it was The Clash opening up for The Who, The Dead Kennedys in Berkeley, The Dickies at CBGB; Gang Green in Boston; the Ramones in Milwaukee; The Circle Jerks in the West Villageor Baltimore; Neurosis at Gilman Street; The Decline of Western Civilization in Venice; Fugazi in Chapel Hill; Sick of it All in DC; 7 Seconds in Sparks, NV; or their goofy friends at a party, these fans recount the inspiration, the embarrassment, and the redemption of their first time.

The book also includes a ton of classic photos and flyers from “the good old days”.

Contributors include:

Michelle Tea, Blake Schwarzenbach, George Hurchalla, Harrison Haynes, Jack Rabid, Rob Fish, Joe Queer, Shawna Kenney, Ben Sizemore, Boff Whalley, Blag Dahlia, John Poddy, Pete Slovenly, Scott Bourne, Darren Walters, Paul Curran, and many, many more.